Review: Sad Desk Salad

Sasd Desk Salad by Jessica Grose

Sad Desk Salad chronicles a week in the life of Alex Lyons, a blogger for the gossip website “Chick Habit.” From Monday to Thursday, Alex’s life becomes progressively more hectic, and on Friday it finally looks like things may settle.

There are of course the normal stresses of her job: writing her post quota for the day, making sure she gets enough page views for the month, and finding time to eat and shower without her boss sending her a nasty IM when Alex does not respond to an e-mail right away. Then there are the crises that are not so every-day. She and her co-workers find a hate blog about them and decide to find out who is behind it. Then, Alex receives an anonymous e-mail linking to a video of a celebrity's perfect daughter participating in some not-so-perfect activities. The rest of the week consists of Alex coping with the hate mail and death threats she receives after releasing the video on “Chick Habit.” Oh, and there is also relationship trouble between Alex and her co-workers, friends, mother, and boyfriend. And an appearance on the Today show.
All of that rolled into one week! I was exhausted just reading it.

Almost a month...

I must apologize to all four of my followers. It has been almost exactly one month since my last post. I will list what I have read since then, and the hopefully another post on my crazy awesome research project later in the week. I'm simply too tired to write it now. I had a busy day that started with running 18 miles and ended with...well...I don't know what. I'm still up!

Anyway, what I have been reading:

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James

To sum up, The Amber Spyglass was a satisfying, if not happy, ending to the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. A Discovery of Witches was light and fun. Definitely Twilight for adults. It was much less annoying because the main female is capable of taking care of herself, and is smart. She is a witch who needs training, but we glimpse how powerful she could become. Fifty Shades of Gray. Hmmm...
Well, I read it. Will I read the next 2? Don't plan on it.

And so until next time, that's all, folks!

WOAH! A book that's not for school!

I'm so excited! I'm reading a book that was not assigned for school. It is every bit as satisfying as I thought it would be. I can put it down and not read it constantly, and if I want, I can stop reading. Just stop reading and switch to a different book. Because it is not required reading. It's fun reading.

I'm not going to stop in the middle because I like this book. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clark, by the way. I read it in 10th grade and liked it, so I decided to read it again. I'm still liking it.

Review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

When Thomas woke up, he did not know who he was or where he was going. All he knew was that he was scared, sick and did not want to be where he was, which was in a dark box. When the box finally opened, he found himself surrounded by many boys, all looking to be in their teens. Thomas soon found out that the was in the Glade, and the boys surrounding him were Gladers. The Gladers farmed, raised animals, cleaned, and did what they had to in order to survive. Like Thomas, none of the Gladers could remember where they came from or anything beyond their first name. All they knew is that once a month one boy showed up in the box, and that they lived in the center of a giant maze.
   

Review: Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

The first book of “The Graceling Realm” series, Graceling, is about a young girl named Katsa. In Katsa’s world, some people are born with special skills, called a Grace. These people are recognized by their eyes, which are always two different colors. Katsa, who has distinct green and blue eyes, has a Grace that makes her a useful tool to her uncle, King Randa. She is Graced with killing.   

My First Book Trailer

I have never made anything on iMovie before, let alone something that had to persuade someone to pick up a book.
Now I have!
 In one of my classes we had to make a book trailer and upload it to the web, so I thought I would post it here, too. I don't have all of the iMovie tools down pat, but I don't think it's too shabby for my first time. What do you think? Does it make you want to read the book?

Review: The Lost Code

The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson

When Owen Parker arrives at Camp Eden for the first time, he is blown away by its beauty: there are real trees, water, insects, and the sky looks like it is not controlled by people in a tower far above. Owen’s story takes place in an unspecified year in the future, where humans must live in controlled environments within domes because strong radiation from the sun makes living outside deadly. Owen has a special opportunity to leave his own dome to attend a special camp. When Owen almost drowns taking a swim test and finds he has developed gills, we begin to understand just how special this camp is. During his time at Camp Eden, Owen befriends several CITs who also have gills, discovers he is descended from an ancient race called the Atlanteans, and begins to uncover the horrors the camp director is hiding. As the first book in “The Atlanteans” series, Emerson has set up an intriguing story filled with mystery, adventure, rivalry and romance. He also has created a vision of the future that is both impressive in its imagined technology and terrifying because of its realistic nature.